Mindfulness in the morning. It seems to be a hard practice to embrace, especially if you are more of a night owl or have a million things to juggle on the daily. I imagine a large number of the population start their day in bed scrolling through social media, news, to do lists and emails first thing. I personally often fall victim to this destructive habit which has the power to make or break my day.

Creating positive, slow and calm morning practices can set you up for a similarly minded day or even week. This week we talked to amazing mother and co-owner of Green Leaf Organics (GLO) Chantel Priddy about she handles her busy her morning routine and how it impacts her day.

Tell us about your morning routine, and what part mindfulness plays?

Mike my husband is up early at 4.21am- a weirdly specific time. A cold shower and glass of water is key both internally and externally for this early start followed by five to ten minutes of silent meditation and mental planning for the day ahead. Allowing this time to be still, even if only for a moment helps to stay grounded and present for the day ahead.

Mike gets into the GLOquarters at 5am and only then is his cellphone taken off flight mode from the previous evening. He abides by a digital and nutritional fasting process that takes place for fourteen hours allowing time for both his body and mind to unwind and reboot.

At 7am the cafe opens and a Switchel or GLO immunity shot is consumed to set up the digestive system for the day and to regulate blood sugar. Breakfast is usually consumed together around 10am at the cafe and consists of GF Midnight baker bread with scrambled eggs topped with basil, house made spiced beans & a side of Avo and Mike’s routine long black with coconut butter and mct oil which slows the absorption for the caffeine on a fasted stomach and helps with mental wellbeing.

I am up around 6am, starting my day with a big glass of water with 1 tsp of solé (himalayan salt mineral drops) first thing. Kids permitting I will try and do 10 – 20 mins of stretching creating some space between thought and action. This is also my chance to tend to any urgent business emails. I like to start my day of food with my green smoothie with a mix of kale, spinach, parlsey & mint from the garden, a super food is added too; perhaps a spoon full of hemp protein, ashwagandha or I’m loving our supply of organic lions mane mushroom at the moment. While making my smoothie I’m also preparing the kids breakfast of buckwheat & banana pancakes. The kids wake about 7am and they are into breakfast, this is when I have time to take a shower and get ready for the day. Shortly after the kids are into the car and dropped at kindy and school respectively then into work at around 10am to join Mike for breakfast and have a de-brief on the day ahead. It’s then into action doing invoices, packing orders and planning all NOT without a soy latte in hand. I will also sip on SWITCHEL during the day for hydration and friendly gut bacteria.

How important do you think mindfulness and/or a morning ritual is to your day?

As you probably have noticed we take our morning rituals here at GLO a little too serious. Reason being they set up our whole day with our kids, colleagues, family and wider community. We try and maximise every day so we need to start every day mindfully.

Are you strict with this routine or is it something you aim for more so, whilst not putting too much pressure on it?

Depending on the night and morning all the above planning and rituals go out the window. Then its more black coffee than water and more chaos than mindfulness. But that is okay too. The kids are growing up before our eyes and lego may be more pressing than an instagram post- which at this time in our lives, is how it should be.